Many vehicles such as pick up trucks, etc., include a spare wheel that is stored under the vehicle frame. Such vehicles are provided with a winch mechanism to lower the spare wheel from the stored position or for raising the wheel into the stored position.
One of the problems associated with the winch mechanism lay in the need for the operator to crawl under the vehicle to raise or lower the spare wheel. One solution to this problem is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,264 (incorporated herein by reference) wherein the winch mechanism is mounted close to the outer body of the vehicle This arrangement, however, affects the aesthetics of the vehicle. In a more common solution, the winch mechanism is normally provided with a handle to assist the wheel lowering or raising operation.
However, the known winch assemblies have other associated problems. For example, some of the proposed winch assemblies involve complicated ratchet mechanisms which require maintenance to ensure proper operation and add considerably to the weight of the vehicle Another problem lies in positioning the winch handle. To assist this operation, some of the known winch assemblies include extendable handles which are held in place with springs and the like. This, again, results in mechanisms that are subject to failure.
Another winch assembly is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,523, which is herein incorporated by reference. In this reference, as illustrated in FIG. 1, an elongate crank is used to actuate a winch, which is mounted under the vehicle body. To assist the engagement between the winch and the crank, a conduit is provided to guide the crank into engagement with the winch. Although this assembly alleviates some of the problems of the other known devices, it requires that a long crank be always maintained in the event that the spare wheel is required. Also, as discussed below, the assembly taught by this reference requires the operator to bend to the level of the winch in order to turn the crank. This forces the operator to an uncomfortable position.
The present invention seeks to alleviate the problems associated with the prior art winch mechanisms.